Israel pounds Rafah amid criticism by US
ISRAEL claimed it was conducting a “precise counter-terrorism operation in specific areas of eastern Rafah” yesterday amid multiple missile attacks which killed civilians.
The new Gaza attacks came hours after Israeli forces took control of the key Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt.
The intense overnight bombardment in the city now home to 1.5 million Palestinian refugees resulted in seven members of one family being killed.
Jets also attacked sites in several areas of southern Lebanon in what Israel said were operations against the “military buildings” and “terrorist infrastructure” of Hezbollah.
Shortages
The Israeli military has ordered 100,000 civilians to begin evacuating eastern parts of Rafah, ahead of what it called a “limited” operation to eliminate Hamas fighters and dismantle terrorist infrastructure. But the UN yesterday accused Israel of “choking off” all aid channels into the strip.
Senior UN officials have warned that critical fuel supplies needed to power drinking water pumps, maintain communications and deliver humanitarian aid within Gaza are set to run out today.
The situation is also perilous in northern Gaza, where drinking water facilities will imminently shut down due to fuel shortages.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned there needs to be a “massive surge in life-saving aid” to the besieged and bombarded territory. Meanwhile, efforts continue to reach a ceasefire, alongside the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
In Cairo, delegations from Israel and Hamas are due to resume negotiations through mediators.
It also emerged yesterday that the US last week paused a shipment of bombs for Israel over concerns it was going ahead with its major ground operation in Rafah. The military aid consisted of 1,800 of 2,000lb bombs and 1,700 of 500lb bombs.
A White House administration official told CBS: “The US position has been Israel should not launch a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering with nowhere else to go. We have been engaging in a dialogue with Israel on how they will meet the humanitarian needs of civilians in Rafah, and how to operate differently against Hamas there than they have elsewhere in Gaza.
“Those discussions have not fully addressed our concerns.
“As Israeli leaders seemed to approach a decision point on such an operation, we began to carefully review proposed transfers of particular weapons to Israel that might be used in Rafah. This began in April.
“We are especially focused on the end-use of the 2,000lb bombs and the impact they could have in dense urban settings as we have seen in other parts of Gaza.
“We have not made a final determination on how to proceed with this shipment.”
The Israeli government made no immediate comment yesterday.